Ely needs to put its best foot forward

Posted
Wednesday, December 7, 2016 6:00 pm

The Timberjay’s editorial, describing the Ely Area Development Association’s approach in “promoting” the town, should be a wake up call for all those running around like Chicken Little shouting to the heavens that Ely is dying.

For a community that desperately needs and wants growth, we sure hear a great deal of “woe is me” coming from many of our elected officials and the EADA. It’s time to accept that Ely is like just about every other small town in America (struggling) and start promoting it instead of tearing it down. It does this community no good when it is constantly described as dying, in decline, living in poverty, having a one-percent elite that won’t allow others to thrive, suffering from stagnant job growth and so on (not to mention behaving like 10-year-olds on Facebook).

If the goal is to promote and attract business development and a healthy population growth for a tax base that supports schools and services, please stop for a second and think about how you describe this area in the press and on websites. Stick to proven positive ways to paint the town in a marketable fashion instead of constantly giving it a black eye.

Take an example from business owners like Paul and Sue Schurke and Steve and Nancy Piragis who always focus on what is working well in the surrounding economy in their public comments. You get a pretty good idea about the facts that make it an attractive place to relocate to whenever they speak. The persons who instantly react to these positive outlooks with a barrage of negative comments and press are the individuals guilty of the negative impressions described above.

Thanks Timberjay, for pointing out the corrections sorely needed in the EADA website and in the attitudes of some of our elected officials. Let’s have more confidence in the great things happening here.

Comments

The question asked by a business person-why would i invest in a town that is divided and always divided. I want to invest in a town my workers work as a team and don't always find something wrong.

Ely has the talent for a great work force to invest in. Now they the people just have to show it.

Sunday, December 11, 2016

Steve Jacobson

It's funny how people refer to it as "A town divided". As recent polls and elections have shown 90% of the public support mining and new mining and 10% are against it. Yet, we hear more about anti miing! It's the same thing as when they removed the Ten Commandments from government buildings. Polls showed that 90% believed in God yet the commandments are gone!

If you want the town to not be divided then maybe 100% support for mining would be the way to go because I don't believe there is any way to convince the other 90% to change their minds.